Method and system for reduced rate touch scanning on an electronic device

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention are capable of lowering touch scan rates in a manner that conserves power resources without compromising performance or user experience thereby promoting battery life. Embodiments of the present invention perform touch scan operations using a touch sensitive panel at a first scan rate. In response to certain events automatically detected within the mobile device (e.g., when a full-screen video is being displayed), embodiments of the present invention may then perform touch scan operations at a second scan rate that is slower than the first scan rate that also consumes less power compared to the first scan rate. As such, for events or use cases in which limited user interaction with the touch sensitive panel is typical, embodiments of the present invention may lower touch scan rates in a manner that still enables users to interact with applications (e.g., interaction with playback controls during video playback) and promotes efficient power usage and extends battery life.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are generally related to the fieldof touch sensitive devices capable of capturing touch input.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional computer-implemented devices offer users a variety ofdifferent ways to interact with applications executed on these devices,such as through touchscreen panels. Touchscreen panels used byconventional mobile devices consume power partly based on how frequentlythe panel is “scanned” for touches. As such, faster touch scan rates aregenerally used by conventional mobile devices to improve the accuracy,smoothness, and latency of touch input received, which are allconsidered to be important performance metrics for electronic deviceincluding modern mobile devices.

However, setting touch scan rates at such high frequencies may alsounnecessarily consume power on these mobile devices compared to scanningat lower frequencies for applications requiring minimal userinteraction. Accordingly, the inefficiencies associated withconventional mobile devices may result in wasted power resources and mayultimately lead to reduced batter life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is needed is a solution that is capable of lowering touch scanrates for applications and/or system events that require minimal userinteraction. Embodiments of the present invention are capable oflowering touch scan rates in a manner that conserves power resourceswithout compromising performance or user experience thereby promotingbattery life. Embodiments of the present invention perform touch scanoperations using a touch sensitive panel at a first scan rate. Inresponse to certain events automatically detected within the mobiledevice (e.g., when a full-screen video is being displayed), embodimentsof the present invention may then perform touch scan operations at asecond scan rate that is slower than the first scan rate that alsoconsumes less power compared to the first scan rate. As such, for eventsor use cases in which limited user interaction with the touch sensitivepanel is typical, embodiments of the present invention may lower touchscan rates in a manner that still enables users to interact withapplications (e.g., interaction with playback controls during videoplayback) and promotes efficient power usage and extends battery life.

More specifically, in one embodiment, the present invention isimplemented as a method of activating a touch sensitive panel of acomputing device. The method includes scanning the touch sensitive panelat a first rate to detect a first-type user interaction therewith. Also,the method includes detecting an event within the computing device. Inone embodiment, the event is an identification of a surface type madewhen compositing layers of surface data associated with a plurality ofapplications into a final image for display, where the compositingincludes, using a compositing module, receiving the layers of surfacedata from the plurality of applications and extracting surface typeinformation from the surface data. In one embodiment, the surface typeis a video surface. In one embodiment, the surface type is a camerasurface. In one embodiment, the event is a telephonic event. In oneembodiment, the event is a soft keyboard display event. In oneembodiment, the event is a full-screen video display event.

Furthermore, the method includes, responsive to the event, scanning thetouch sensitive panel at a second rate to detect a second-type userinteraction therewith, the second rate being slower than the first ratein which less power is consumed at the second rate versus the first rateand wherein further the event indicates a presence of a use case of thecomputing device in which limited user interaction of the touchsensitive panel is typical.

In one embodiment, the present invention is implemented as a system foractivating a touch sensitive panel of a computing device. The systemincludes a touch sensor operable to perform scanning operations at afirst rate to detect a first-type user interaction therewith, in whichthe touch sensor is operable to perform the scanning operations at asecond rate to detect a second-type user interaction therewith, thesecond rate being slower than the first rate where less power isconsumed at the second rate versus the first rate.

The system also includes a monitoring module operable to prescribe thesecond rate for the touch sensor via control signals sent theretoresponsive to a detection of an event within the computing device, inwhich the event indicates a presence of a use case of the computingdevice in which limited user interaction of the touch sensor is typical.In one embodiment, the event is an identification of a surface type madeby a compositing module, in which the compositing module is operable tocomposite layers of surface data associated with a plurality ofapplications into a final image for display, in which the compositingmodule is further operable to receive the layers of surface data fromthe plurality of applications and abstract a surface type informationfrom the layers of surface data. In one embodiment, the surface type isa video surface. In one embodiment, the surface type is a camerasurface. In one embodiment, the event is a telephonic event. In oneembodiment, the event is a soft keyboard display event. In oneembodiment, the event is a full-screen video display event.

In one embodiment, the present invention is implemented as a method ofactivating a touch sensitive panel of a computing device. The methodincludes scanning the touch sensitive panel at a first rate to detect afirst-type user interaction therewith, in which the first rate is adefault scan rate. Also, the method includes detecting an event withinthe computing device. In one embodiment, the event is an identificationof a surface type made when compositing layers of surface dataassociated with a plurality of applications into a final image fordisplay, where the compositing includes, using a compositing module,receiving the layers of surface data from the plurality of applicationsand extracting surface type information from the surface data. In oneembodiment, the surface type is a video surface. In one embodiment, thesurface type is a camera surface. In one embodiment, the event is atelephonic event. In one embodiment, the event is a soft keyboarddisplay event. In one embodiment, the event is a full-screen videodisplay event.

Additionally, the method includes, responsive to the event, scanning thetouch sensitive panel at a second rate to detect a second-type userinteraction therewith, the second rate being slower than the first ratein which less power is consumed at the second rate versus the first rateand where further the event indicates a presence of a use case of thecomputing device in which limited user interaction of the touchsensitive panel is typical. Furthermore, the method includes, responsiveto detecting a termination of the event, scanning the touch sensitivepanel at the default rate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block-level diagram depicting an exemplary touch scanadjustment system in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A is a flowchart that depicts an exemplary computer-implementedsurface compositing process in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2B is a block-level diagram depicting an exemplary touch scanadjustment process responsive to identified surfaces in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a block-level diagram depicting an exemplary touch scanadjustment process responsive to detected system events in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart that depicts an exemplary computer-implementedtouch scan adjustment process responsive to identified surfaces inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart that depicts an exemplary computer-implementedtouch scan adjustment process responsive to detected system events inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. While described in conjunction with theseembodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limitthe disclosure to these embodiments. On the contrary, the disclosure isintended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which maybe included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined bythe appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed descriptionof the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.However, it will be understood that the present disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knownmethods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described indetail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the presentdisclosure.

Portions of the detailed description that follow are presented anddiscussed in terms of a process. Although operations and sequencingthereof are disclosed in a figure herein (e.g., FIGS. 3 and 4)describing the operations of this process, such operations andsequencing are exemplary. Embodiments are well suited to performingvarious other operations or variations of the operations recited in theflowchart of the figure herein, and in a sequence other than thatdepicted and described herein.

As used in this application the terms controller, module, system, andthe like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity,specifically, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a module canbe, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, anintegrated circuit, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, aprogram, and or a computer. By way of illustration, both an applicationrunning on a computing device and the computing device can be a module.One or more modules can reside within a process and/or thread ofexecution, and a component can be localized on one computer and/ordistributed between two or more computers. In addition, these modulescan be executed from various computer readable media having various datastructures stored thereon.

FIG. 1 is a block-level diagram of an exemplary capacitive touch device(e.g., system 100) capable of adjusting its touch scan rate inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, system 100 may include hardwarelevel circuits 101, kernel level 201 and user space 301. Hardware level101 may comprise touch sensor 120, display device 111, frame memorybuffer 116, graphics processor 125, processor 110, as well as mainmemory 115. Kernel level 201 may comprise touch input driver 130,display controller driver 136 and graphics driver 135. Furthermore, userspace 301 may comprise applications 155-N, surface rendering module 140as well as compositor module 141.

Exemplary Hardware Level in Accordance with Embodiments of the PresentInvention

According to one embodiment of the present invention, touch sensor 120may include the functionality to detect the occurrence of touch eventsperformed coincidental to the performance of touch scan operations.Touch sensor 120 may be a capacitive touch-sensing device that includesa plurality of plates that may be charged during a powered state (e.g.,using power resources coupled to system 100). The plurality ofinterconnection points may be spatially arranged in a manner such thateach point represents a distinct location (e.g., sampling point) withintouch sensor 120. During a powered state, each interconnection point maybe uniformly charged using the same voltage or individually charged withdifferent voltages. Furthermore, in one embodiment, prescribed thresholdvalues (e.g., voltages) assigned to each plate may be stored withinregisters (not shown) coupled to touch sensor 120.

During the performance of touch scan operations, according to oneembodiment, touch scan controller 120-1 may include the functionality tocalculate capacitance discharge levels associated with sampling pointsat a given time using well-known discharge calculation procedures.Furthermore, touch scan controller 120-1 may include the functionalityto detect the performance of touch events based on calculated dischargelevels. For instance, when a touch event is performed by an object(e.g., a user's finger) on touch sensor 120 during a powered state, theobject may make contact with a particular set of sampling points (e.g.,set of charged plates) located within touch sensor 120. This contact mayresult in the object providing additional capacitance to the currentcapacitance levels of those sampling points contacted.

As such, touch scan controller 120-1 may perceive the correspondingincreases in capacitance levels at these sampling points by referencingprescribed threshold values assigned to each plate. In this manner,touch scan controller 120-1 may register detected changes in capacitancelevels as touch events performed at those particular sampling pointsaffected. Furthermore, according to one embodiment, touch scancontroller 120-1 may include the functionality to communicate thelocation of these affected sampling points to touch input driver 130 forfurther processing by components within system 100 (e.g., componentswithin user space 301). For instance, data gathered by touch scancontroller 120-1 concerning touch events detected may be made availableto applications (e.g., applications 155-N) for further processing.

In one embodiment, touch sensor 120 may include the functionality toconvert analog signals discharged from a set of points associated with aparticular sampling point into digital signals using digital signalconverters (e.g., DACs) for further processing by components of system100. For instance, in one embodiment, touch sensor 120 may use digitalsignals to create a digital bitmap (e.g., 2 dimensional plot ofmagnitudes) to determine the location of touch events performed.

According to one embodiment, touch scan timer 120-2 may include thefunctionality to set the time between the performance of touch scanoperations for a set of sampling points within touch sensor 120 (e.g.,120-240 Hz). A scan typically traverses the entire touch panel surfacearea. In this manner, touch scan timer 120-2 may be configured totrigger the performance of touch scan operations by touch scancontroller 120-1 at a given scan rate. In one embodiment, touch scantimer 120-2 may be configured to trigger the performance of touch scanoperations for different sets of sampling points within touch sensor 120at different times.

In one embodiment, display device 111 may include the functionality torender output. Examples of display device 111 may include, but are notlimited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, cathoderay tube (CRT) monitor, etc. Additionally, in one embodiment, mainprocessor 110 may include the functionality to process instructions fromapplications (e.g., applications 155-N) to read data received from touchsensor 120 and/or optional input devices (not shown) and to store thedata in frame memory buffer 116 for further processing via internalcommunications bus. Optional input devices may include, but are notlimited to, keyboards, mice, joysticks, microphones, etc. Additionally,in one embodiment, graphics processor 125 may include the functionalityto generate pixel data for output images in response to renderinginstructions by an application and may be configured as multiple virtualgraphic processors that are used in parallel (concurrently) by a numberof applications executing in parallel.

Frame memory buffer 116, in one embodiment, may include thefunctionality to store pixel data for each pixel of an output image. Inone embodiment, frame memory buffer 116 and/or other memory may be partof main memory 115 which may be shared with processor 110 and/orgraphics processor 125. Additionally, in one embodiment, system 100 mayinclude additional physical graphics processors, each configuredsimilarly to graphics processor 125. In one embodiment, these additionalgraphics processors may be configured to operate in parallel withgraphics processor 125 to simultaneously generate pixel data fordifferent portions of an output image, or to simultaneously generatepixel data for different output images

Exemplary Kernel Level in Accordance with Embodiments of the PresentInvention

According to one embodiment of the present invention, kernel level 201may be a partition within the virtual memory space of a conventionaloperating system. In one embodiment, kernel level 201 may be reservedfor running kernel level processes, extensions, as well as devicedrivers. As such, kernel level 201 may isolate and allocate access todevices located within hardware level 101.

In one embodiment, touch input driver 130 may be configured tocommunicate with touch sensor 120/and or display device 111 (via displaycontroller driver 136) to obtain touch input information provided fromone or more users. Touch input information may include sampling pointsassociated with the execution of user mode gestures performed by one ormore users. Gestures may include, but are not limited to “smoothgestures”, “swipes”, “flings”, “pinch and zoom”, etc. According to oneembodiment, the output provided by touch input driver 130 may becommunicated to one or more applications (e.g., applications 155-N)capable of receiving touch input commands residing within user space301. Display controller driver 136 may be configured to communicateprocessed surface data received from compositor module 141 to displaydevice 111 and/or frame memory buffer 116 for rendering. Additionally,graphics driver 135 may be used to configure graphics processor 125 andassist in generating a stream of rendered data to be delivered todisplay device 111.

Exemplary User Space Level in Accordance with Embodiments of the PresentInvention

According to one embodiment of the present invention, user space level301 may be a location within the virtual memory of a conventionaloperating system in which applications are executed in a user-mode levelof operation. User space level 301 may include applications andlibraries used in communications between the operating system and othercomponents of system 100 (e.g., kernel level 201). In one embodiment,applications operating within user space level 301 (e.g., applications155-N) may submit a layer including surface rendering instructions tosurface rendering module 140 for further processing.

Surface rendering module 140 may include the functionality to managemultiple layers of surface rendering instructions provided by differentapplications within user space level 301. As such, applications withinuser space level 301 (e.g., applications 155-N) may streamline data(e.g., surface objects) associated with their respective surfaces tosurface rendering module 140 for further processing by compositor module150. According to one embodiment, surface rendering module 140 may becapable of allocating off-screen buffers to process pixel contentassociated with the different surfaces to be rendered.

Compositor module 141 may include the functionality to merge severallayers of surfaces together and render a single resultant image fordisplay to the user (e.g., via display device 111). In this manner,display elements belonging to different applications may be merged intoa single display area by compositor module 141. In one embodiment,compositor module 141 may include the functionality to independentlyrender multiple layers using off-screen buffers allocated by surfacerendering module 140.

Additionally, compositor module 141 may include the functionality toabstract embedded information (e.g., metadata) from the layers itprocesses. According to one embodiment, compositor module 141 may becapable of extracting surface type information from layers processed atrun-time. For instance, compositor module 141 may be configured toidentify video layers participating in the compositing process usingabstracted information. Furthermore, compositor module 141 may also becapable of extracting display attributes from video layers identified.For instance, using embedded information abstracted from a video layer,compositor module 141 may be capable of determining a percentage of thetotal screen area to be occupied (e.g., full-screen view) by a videolayer at run-time. Additional surface types may include, but are notlimited to, soft keyboard displays, camera surfaces, telephonicsurfaces, etc. (e.g., telephone applications providing surfaces).

Touch scan monitoring module 152 may include the functionality todynamically adjust the rate at which touch scan operations are performedby touch sensor 120 in response to surface types identified bycompositor module 141. According to one embodiment, touch scanmonitoring module 152 may be configured to receive signals fromcompositor module 141 when a particular surface is being processed bycompositor module 141. For instance, in one embodiment, touch scanmonitoring module 152 may be configured to receive signals fromcompositor module 141 whenever a video layer is contemporaneouslyidentified by compositor module 141 for compositing. Furthermore, inresponse to signals received from compositor module 141, touch scanmonitoring module 152 may then proceed to send control signals (e.g.,touch scan rate adjustment control signal 152-1) to touch input driver130.

Control signals sent by touch scan monitoring module 152 may includeprescribed scan rates (frequencies) which may correspondingly decreasethe rate of touch scans performed by touch sensor 120. In oneembodiment, control signals may include parameters that adjust activeand/or idle system timers. As such, the reduced frequency of touch scansmay also proportionally reduce the amount of power consumed by touchsensor 120 when performing touch scan operations.

Additionally, embodiments of the present invention may be capable ofrecognizing surfaces that utilize certain hardware features of a device.According to one embodiment, compositor module 141 may be capable ofrecognizing surfaces that utilize camera features of camera hardware(not pictured) coupled to system 100. Accordingly, touch scan monitoringmodule 152 may send control signals which correspondingly decrease therate of touch scans performed by touch sensor 120 in response to adetection of surfaces utilizing the camera features of system 100.According to one embodiment, compositor module 141 may be capable ofrecognizing surfaces that utilize soft keyboard displays as well as thetelephonic features of associated with system 100.

FIG. 2A is a block-level diagram of an exemplary surface typeidentification process used in the adjustment of touch scan rates inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 2A, several applications may be executed within userspace level 301. For instance, application 155-1 may be an applicationused by system 100 to display wallpaper background images; application155-2 may be an application used by system 100 for displaying desktopicons; and application 155-3 may be an application used by system 100for displaying system status icons (e.g., battery usage icon, receivedmessages icon, etc.).

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, each executed application may provide surfacerendering module 140 with a surface for compositor module 141 to render(e.g., application surfaces 156-1, 156-2 and 156-3) in response toinputs received from kernel level 201 (e.g., via system input serviceused by system 100). Surface rendering module 140 may proceed to presentapplication surfaces 156-1, 156-2, and 156-3 to compositor module 141for compositing. During the compositing process of these layers,compositor module 141 may merge several display elements associated withdifferent applications (e.g., 155-1, 155-2,155-3) and render a singleresultant image for display to the user (e.g., resultant image 144).Furthermore, during the compositing process, compositor module 141 maybe capable of extracting surface information embedded in the metadata ofeach surface (e.g., abstracted metadata 157-1, 157-2,157-3).

FIG. 2B is a block-level diagram of an exemplary touch scan rateadjustment process responsive to an identification of a particularsurface type in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Asdepicted in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2B, compositor module 141may be configured to identify video layers (e.g., video surface 158-1)provided by an application (e.g., media player) using informationabstracted during the compositing process. Furthermore, compositormodule 141 may be capable of identifying display attributes associatedwith video layers identified. For instance, abstracted video surfacemetadata 159-1 may contain instructions (e.g., coded flags) which mayalert compositor module 141 that the video surface 158-1 is to beexecuted in a “full-screen” mode (e.g., occupies more than 50% of thedisplay screen). As such, compositor module 141 may include thefunctionality to send signals to touch scan monitoring module 152 inresponse to recognizing instructions for video surface 158-1 to beexecuted in a “full-screen” mode.

Touch scan monitoring module 152 may include the functionality to sendcontrol signals (e.g., touch scan rate adjustment control signal 152-1)to touch input driver 130 in response to signals received fromcompositor module 141. According to one embodiment, control signals sentby touch scan monitoring module 152 may include prescribed touch scanrates which may be used by touch input driver 130 to modify the rate oftouch scans being performed by touch sensor 120. For instance, touchscan rate adjustment control signal 152-1 sent by touch scan monitoringmodule 152 may instruct touch input driver 130 to reduce the rate oftouch scans being performed by touch sensor 120 (e.g., 120-240 Hz) to alower scan rate (e.g., 10 Hz). According to one embodiment, touch inputdriver 130 may correspondingly send instructions to touch scan timer120-2 to modify the current rate of touch scans performed by touchsensor 120 to the prescribed rate.

Furthermore, touch scan monitoring module 152 may be capable ofrestoring the touch scan rate to a previous or default touch scan rate.For instance, in response to the full-screen video mode being exited,touch scan monitoring module 152 may send control signals to touch inputdriver 130 to increase the rate of touch scans being performed by touchsensor 120 from the prescribed rate (e.g., 10 Hz) to a default touchscan rate (e.g., 120-240 Hz). As such, touch sensor 120 may also consumepower at a rate commensurate with the default touch scan rate.

In one embodiment, touch scan monitoring module 152 may be capable ofrestoring the touch scan rate to the default touch scan rate in responseto detected touch events performed on touch sensor 120. In oneembodiment, touch input driver 130 may utilize active and/or idle systemtimers in determining when to return to a default touch scan rate. Forinstance, after a pre-determined period of time has elapsed in which notouch events were detected, touch sensor 120 may return to using adefault touch scan rate to perform touch scan operations.

Although the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2B is configured to reducetouch scan rates in response to video layers identified by compositormodule 141, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the presentinvention are not limited to such configurations. For example, in oneembodiment, compositor module 141 may be configured to recognize surfacelayers associated with camera functionality. For instance, in oneembodiment, compositor module 141 may be configured to identify “livepreview” windows from surfaces associated with camera playback.

FIG. 2C is a block-level diagram of an exemplary touch scan rateadjustment process responsive to active system displays and/or processesin accordance with embodiments of the present invention. System activitymanager 143 may be capable of tracking active displays (windows) andsystem processes on system 100. Additionally, system activity manager143 may also be capable of communicating inputs received (e.g., viatouch sensor 120) to applications configured to receive them. As such,system activity manager 143 may be capable of recognizing activedisplays capable of receiving input through soft keyboard displays. Softkeyboard displays may be used to enable users (e.g., users usingconventional mobile devices) to provide text within text-enabled fieldsusing an onscreen keyboard. Accordingly, in one embodiment, when adisplay capable of receiving input via soft keyboard display is active,system activity manager 143 may send signals to notify touch scanmonitoring module 152. In response to the signals received, touch scanmonitoring module 152 may send control signals which may correspondinglydecrease the rate of touch scans performed by touch sensor 120.

Furthermore, according to one embodiment, system activity manager 143may capable of recognizing telephonic events associated with system 100(e.g., receiving/answering a phone call). In this manner, systemactivity module 143 may be used by components of system 100 to receivealerts when the telephonic features of system 100 are engaged (e.g., bya user). As such, touch scan monitoring module 152 may receive signalsfrom system activity module 143 in response to a detected telephonicevent. In response to receiving these signals, touch scan monitoringmodule 152 may then proceed to send control signals which maycorrespondingly decrease the rate of touch scans performed by touchsensor 120.

FIG. 3 provides a flow chart depicting an exemplary touch scan rateadjustment process in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

At step 405, the device operates at default touch scan rate thatconsumes a standard amount of power.

At step 410, surfaces associated with a plurality of differentapplications are fed to the system compositor.

At step 415, the system compositor abstracts surface type informationfrom the surfaces received at step 410.

At step 420, a determination is made as to whether a video surface wasidentified during the abstraction process at step 415. If a videosurface was identified, then the touch scan monitoring module receivesnotification of the video surfaces identified and prescribes reducedtouch scan rates that are sent to the touch sensor via control signals,as detailed in step 425. If a video surface was not identified, then thedisplay elements associated with the surfaces received at step 410 aremerged by the system compositor into a single image for rendering to adisplay device, as detailed in step 435.

At step 425, a video surface was identified and, therefore, the touchscan monitoring module receives notification of the video surfacesidentified and prescribes reduced touch scan rates that are sent to thetouch sensor via control signals.

At step 430, control signals sent by the touch scan monitoring module atstep 425 are received by the touch sensor which correspondingly adjustsits current touch scan rate according to the reduced touch scan rateprescribed which also proportionally reduces the amount of powerconsumed by the device. Furthermore, the display elements associatedwith the surfaces received at step 410 are merged by the systemcompositor into a single image for rendering to a display device, asdetailed in step 435.

At step 435, a video surface was not identified and, therefore, thedisplay elements associated with the surfaces received at step 410 aremerged by the system compositor into a single image for rendering to adisplay device.

At step 440, in response to detected touch events performed on the touchsensor, the touch scan monitoring module restores the touch scan rate tothe default touch scan rate of step 405.

FIG. 4 provides a flow chart depicting an exemplary touch scan rateadjustment process in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

At step 505, the device operates at default touch scan rate thatconsumes a standard amount of power.

At step 510, the system activity manager detects a telephonic event andsends notification signals to the touch scan monitoring module.

At step 515, the touch scan monitoring module receives notification fromthe system activity manager of the telephonic event performed andprescribes reduced touch scan rates that are sent to the touch sensorvia control signals.

At step 520, control signals sent by the touch scan monitoring module atstep 515 are received by the touch sensor which adjusts its currenttouch scan rate according to the reduced touch scan rate prescribedwhich also proportionally reduces the amount of power consumed by thedevice.

At step 525, in response to detected touch events performed on the touchsensor, the touch scan monitoring module restores the touch scan rate tothe default touch scan rate of step 505.

While the foregoing disclosure sets forth various embodiments usingspecific block diagrams, flowcharts, and examples, each block diagramcomponent, flowchart step, operation, and/or component described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented, individually and/or collectively,using a wide range of hardware, software, or firmware (or anycombination thereof) configurations. In addition, any disclosure ofcomponents contained within other components should be considered asexamples because many other architectures can be implemented to achievethe same functionality.

The process parameters and sequence of steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only. For example, whilethe steps illustrated and/or described herein may be shown or discussedin a particular order, these steps do not necessarily need to beperformed in the order illustrated or discussed. The various examplemethods described and/or illustrated herein may also omit one or more ofthe steps described or illustrated herein or include additional steps inaddition to those disclosed.

While various embodiments have been described and/or illustrated hereinin the context of fully functional computing systems, one or more ofthese example embodiments may be distributed as a program product in avariety of forms, regardless of the particular type of computer-readablemedia used to actually carry out the distribution. The embodimentsdisclosed herein may also be implemented using software modules thatperform certain tasks. These software modules may include script, batch,or other executable files that may be stored on a computer-readablestorage medium or in a computing system.

These software modules may configure a computing system to perform oneor more of the example embodiments disclosed herein. One or more of thesoftware modules disclosed herein may be implemented in a cloudcomputing environment. Cloud computing environments may provide variousservices and applications via the Internet. These cloud-based services(e.g., software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as aservice) may be accessible through a Web browser or other remoteinterface. Various functions described herein may be provided through aremote desktop environment or any other cloud-based computingenvironment.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above disclosure. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention andvarious embodiments with various modifications as may be suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Embodiments according to the invention are thus described. While thepresent disclosure has been described in particular embodiments, itshould be appreciated that the invention should not be construed aslimited by such embodiments, but rather construed according to the belowclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a touch sensitive panelof a computing device, said method comprising: scanning said touchsensitive panel at a first rate to detect a first-type user interactiontherewith; detecting an event within said computing device; andresponsive to said event, scanning said touch sensitive panel at asecond rate to detect a second-type user interaction therewith, saidsecond rate slower than said first rate wherein less power is consumedat said second rate versus said first rate and wherein further saidevent indicates a presence of a use case of said computing device inwhich limited user interaction of said touch sensitive panel is typical.2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein said event is anidentification of a surface type made when compositing layers of surfacedata associated with a plurality of applications into a final image fordisplay, wherein said compositing surface data comprises: using acompositing module, receiving said layers of surface data from saidplurality of applications; and extracting surface type information fromsaid surface data.
 3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein saidsurface type is a video surface.
 4. The method as described in claim 2,wherein said surface type is a camera surface.
 5. The method asdescribed in claim 1, wherein said event is an activation of a telephoneapplication.
 6. The method as described in claim 1, wherein said eventis a soft keyboard display event.
 7. The method as described in claim 1,further comprising restoring said first rate when: (a) said eventterminates or (b) a touch event is detected.
 8. A system for controllinga touch sensitive panel of a computing device, said system comprising: atouch sensor operable to perform scanning operations at a first rate todetect a first-type user interaction therewith, wherein said touchsensor is operable to perform said scanning operations at a second rateto detect a second-type user interaction therewith, said second rateslower than said first rate wherein less power is consumed at saidsecond rate versus said first rate; and a monitoring module operable toprescribe said second rate for said touch sensor via control signalssent thereto responsive to a detection of an event within said computingdevice, wherein said event indicates a presence of a use case of saidcomputing device in which limited user interaction of said touch sensoris typical.
 9. The system as described in claim 8, wherein said event isan identification of a surface type made by a compositing module,wherein said compositing module is operable to composite layers ofsurface data associated with a plurality of applications into a finalimage for display, wherein said compositing module is further operableto receive said layers of surface data from said plurality ofapplications and abstract surface type information from said surfacedata.
 10. The system as described in claim 9, wherein said surface typeis a video surface.
 11. The system as described in claim 9, wherein saidsurface type is a camera surface.
 12. The system as described in claim8, wherein said event is an activation of a telephone application. 13.The system as described in claim 8, wherein said event is a softkeyboard display event.
 14. The system as described in claim 8, whereinsaid monitoring module is further operable to restore said first ratewhen: (a) said event terminates or (b) a touch event is detected.
 15. Amethod of controlling a touch sensitive panel of a computing device,said method comprising: scanning said touch sensitive panel at a firstrate to detect a first-type user interaction therewith, wherein saidfirst rate is a default scan rate; detecting an event within saidcomputing device; responsive to said event, scanning said touchsensitive panel at a second rate to detect a second-type userinteraction therewith, said second rate slower than said first ratewherein less power is consumed at said second rate versus said firstrate and wherein further said event indicates a presence of a use caseof said computing device in which limited user interaction of said touchsensitive panel is typical; and responsive to detecting a termination ofsaid event, scanning said touch sensitive panel at said default rate.16. The method as described in claim 15, wherein said event is anidentification of a surface type made when compositing surface dataassociated with a plurality of applications into a final image fordisplay, wherein said compositing surface data comprises: using acompositing module, receiving said surface data from said plurality ofapplications; and extracting surface type information from said surfacedata.
 17. The method as described in claim 16, wherein said surface typeis a video surface.
 18. The method as described in claim 16, whereinsaid surface type is a camera surface.
 19. The method as described inclaim 15, wherein said event is an activation of a telephoneapplication.
 20. The method as described in claim 15, wherein said eventis a soft keyboard display event.
 21. The method as described in claim15, wherein said event is a full-screen video display event.